


Be Yourselves

by EzzyDean



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-05
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-01-07 13:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1120375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzzyDean/pseuds/EzzyDean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a bunch of drabbles involving roommates and childhood friends Sei and Ai and their new neighbors Makoto and Rin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seijuro and Aiichiro meet their new neighbors and things look a little rocky.

The redhead stared at the door in front of him.  Apartment 303.  He had been worried and searching for Ai for almost three hours now and he had been here the whole time?  Right next door.  The door opened and he found himself looking down into a pair of bright green eyes.  Surprisingly he didn’t have to look down very far.  He wasn’t used to people being this close to his height.  There was something unsettling about it.  And about the stare those green eyes were giving him.

"So you’re Seijuro?"

"What?"

"Well I figured you’d prefer that to ‘big stupid monkey’ or ‘muscle head meanie.’  But if you prefer one of those I can call you that."

"Um Aiichiro texted me saying he was here.  I’ve come to take him home."

 The smile that slid over the man’s face didn’t even come near his eyes and a shiver of apprehension crawled along Seijuro’s spine.  He faced crazies and criminals on a daily basis at work without even so much as blinking.  But this guy was throwing off some seriously intense signals and he felt himself tensing.

"Why don’t you come inside instead?  I’d like to hear your side of the story as to why a complete stranger is sitting on my friend bawling his blue eyes out."

 

Rin felt apprehensive about letting Makoto answer the door, he had seen what he and his friends playfully called “Killer Whale Mode” take over the normally gentle giant and he didn’t want to be kicked out of their new place so soon after they finished moving in because of some fight. He liked the tub thank you very much.

He was given very little choice however considering he was still on the floor with a lap full of the sobbing little boy who had tried opening the door to their apartment by mistake. He had the gist of the story, an argument between friends made worse because one went drinking and spilling secrets to strangers and really they had no right to judge before hearing the other side’s story, so with a glare to Makoto he nodded for the other to answer the door, hand going to grey-ish hair to try and sooth the sobbing.

Makoto soon came back, a red head nearly as tall as him following the brunette and Rin thanked the Gods that Makoto hadn’t done anything to make the situation worse. The older boy held friendships at such high regard and he wouldn’t be surprised if he had punched the stranger for hurting his friend.

 

Seijuro entered the room with little more than a cursory glance.  It really didn’t look all that different than the apartment he and Ai shared, maybe a little bigger but that was all.  There were still a couple of boxes stacked to one side making it obvious that these two had just moved in.  Great.  That made Ai’s little crying stint even more frustrating.  Wonderful impression on the new neighbors.  He knelt in front of his sobbing roommate and the guy whose lap he had invaded and tapped Ai on the top of his head.  When teary blue eyes finally met his he raised an eyebrow.

"Really, Ai?  Big stupid monkey?"  Ai’s chin wavered at the teasing tone and he let out a whine before shoving his head back under the other guy’s chin.  Earning Seijuro an unbelieving stare from a pair of unusually red eyes.  He could also feel the irritation radiating off the man still standing behind him.  He probably should have thought that one through.  Because of course these two had just met Aiichiro so they wouldn’t know that this teasing was just the way he and Ai did things.  In fact, it was usually him that Ai was clinging to and crying on even as he called him names and berated him.

"Care to explain why I have a lap full of tears right now, muscle head?"

Rin was starting to rethink the decision not to let Makoto have his way with the other redhead. He was pretty sure they could find another apartment. It wasn’t like this one was the last on their list of possibilities. Also these two were technically interrupting their peace so Rin was certain he (or Gou, or Megane or Nagisa) could spin some sort of story to push the blame onto the other.

“Well?” He snapped, making sure to bear his teeth in a snarl, something he knew would seem pretty threatening especially considering Makoto was still giving the other’s back his full on Mother Hen Killer Whale stare.

His head tilted back to allow the smaller boy to hide his face against the crook of his neck and continue his crying.

“You know you’re not really helping your case here monkey boy.” Makoto said coolly

Seijuro took a deep breath, catching a whiff of alcohol in the process and he sighed.  He knew Ai had been stressed about the paper he was writing for one of his classes.  He knew Ai had wanted to relax a bit; he also knew that a couple of the other students in Ai’s classes had their eyes on the grey-haired student.  And he knew how low Ai’s alcohol tolerance was when he was tired.  

Which is why he had suggested that Ai just stay in that night and that they’d hang out instead of him taking up his classmates’ offers of drinks.  Then work had called and his boss wouldn’t hang up the freaking phone even though it should have been a five minute conversation updating him on his next assignment.  Stressed and tired, Ai had taken great offense at the phone call and had stormed off after fifteen minutes of listening to Sei trying to end the conversation.

 

But should he explain all that to these two strangers?  When the guy in front of him flashed his toothy snarl in his direction and then nodded to the man behind standing behind him Sei actually gulped at the increased anger that pelted his back.  

Then he opened his mouth and spilled his story.  Just what were these two?  Professional interrogators or something?

As the stream of words just fell out from the red head’s mouth Makoto’s shoulders slowly started to relax, arms uncrossing from their previous “disapproving” position. Well. That certainly wasn’t what he expected. Even Rin seemed quite surprised, mouth hanging open and seemingly seconds away from slapping a hand to his face in exasperation, the other already having stopped the soothing petting of the grey hair.

Even the offended party was starting to look up, the story luckily still understandable through the dwindling haze of alcohol.

Bottom lip quivered and Makoto watched Rin brace for more sobbing only to have his lap even more full, this time with a surprised red head. The boy, Ai?, had pulled his friend towards them, effectively toppling Rin over thanks to the other’s larger size, and was now sobbing apologies on his friend’s shoulder. Rin looked like he was regretting several life choices, and Makoto couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

The laughter coming from the giant behind him helped ease his tension a bit and he felt his shoulder becoming soaked - when Ai cried he didn’t hold back at all.  Giving an apologetic look to the man whose lap he had suddenly found himself in he stood up, taking his sniffling roommate with him with practised ease.

"We’ll be back sometime this week to properly apologize.  And he’ll be sober.  I promise."  Sei flashed the two men a tight smile and guided Ai from the apartment.  They heard a muffled "please don’t hate me" as the door shut and then Rin and Mako just stared at each other.

What the hell had just happened?

Ai woke up to the sun shining onto his face with deadly precision.  He was curled up in Sei’s bed, something he only did when he had been either A) drinking or B) crying.  Judging by his pounding head and sore throat he had been doing both the night before.  Not that he could make out all the details.

"You made a great first impression on the neighbors, by the way."  Sei’s humorless voice was considerately soft as Ai winced his way from under the covers.  "We’ll have to get them a cake or something to apologize.  You’re lucky you didn’t get sick.  That would have been even more embarrassing."

"Shut it, Sei.  Just let me sleep."  He had started for his own bedroom and found himself staring at his disheveled reflection in the bathroom mirror instead.

"Can’t.  You have classes and I have work.  Take a shower and let’s go."


	2. It's My Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sei never thought he needed to be taken care of.

He knocked on the door softly, wincing at the sharp twinge that ran through his fingers at the motion.  He had already forgotten that his knuckles had been well and thoroughly crushed earlier that day.  The door to apartment 303 swung open and he was greeted with a cheerful grin.  One that quickly turned into a worried gasp as the tall man practically pulled him inside.

 

“Jeez, Sei.  What on earth happened to you today?”

“You know I can’t give out details.  It’s nothing serious.  I’m fine see?”  Waving his hand gingerly to show he wasn’t that bad off - and he wasn’t it was just a few scrapes here and some bruises there after all - he smiled, but Makoto wasn’t buying it.  He guided Seijuro onto a footstool with a gentleness that belied his size.

“Just stay put.  I’ll patch you up.”  He rolled his eyes as the gentle giant hurried down the hall to the bathroom for the first aid kit.  The first time he had shown up like this to collect Ai Makoto had nearly had a heart attack.  The first aid kit was his own personal one that he had supplied with everything he needed to fix Sei’s various injuries.  It was something he was oddly proud of.

Sei’s position in the security company wasn’t exactly a cushy job.  None of the others really understood.  Makoto with his cleaning service job, Rin with his physical trainer job, and Ai was a college student.  He liked helping people and if his muscles being a shield was the way he could help he would do it.  But it wasn’t like he needed to be babied like this.  

Ai and Rin wandered in from wherever they had been, probably in Rin’s room watching one of those weird nature documentaries they were both so fascinated with, and he stood up.  He could take care of his injuries just fine, thank you very much, and whatever he couldn’t reach to patch up his roommate was always willing to help with.  

Said roommate who had been hanging out over here way too much.  It had to be getting irritating for the other two to have the college student invading their apartment nearly every day.  For hours on end.  Usually not leaving until Sei came to collect him or he passed out on the couch and Mako or Rin carried him back to his and Sei’s apartment.

“Come on, Ai.  Time to get back to our place.”  The blue eyed student tried pouting at him for a moment but he was practically immune to it by now.  Especially after the day he had.  All he wanted now was to go home and sleep.  “Don’t do that.  You have a research report due tomorrow, don’t you?”  Playing mother hen to Ai was not something he had intended on doing when his childhood friend had practically begged him to let him move in with him last summer.  But Ai had been following him around more or less his entire life and somewhere along the way he had just accepted it.

He held out his hand for Ai and was startled by the warm grip on his other wrist instead.  A not so gentle tug sat him right back onto the footstool.  He hadn’t even heard Makoto come back.  It had been a long day.  “I thought I told you to stay put.”  It wasn’t the action of Makoto pulling him back down to a seated position that startled him so much as the tone of his voice.  Makoto actually sounded… angry?  Standing up, only to be pushed back down again, he glared at Mako, forcing the growl out of his tone with all his might.

“I said I was fine.”  There was no need to start an argument over this.  For one thing it was silly.  For another he wasn’t sure he wanted to see the green-eyed man mad.  The glimpse he had gotten at their first meeting had been more than enough to last him a lifetime.  He tried to stand up again and this time when Makoto tugged him back onto the stool, kneeling in front of him and opening the first aid kit, he actually did let out a growl.

Rin froze where he was standing in the kitchen area and Ai peeked around him cautiously.  Neither man was one to readily give in to his temper but today seemed to be their breaking point with each other.  Ai wrapped his fingers around Rin’s sleeve as they watched the other two.

“Just stay there and shut up and let me take care of you.”

“I don’t need you to take care of me.  I can take care of myself.”

“Yes.  As I can clearly see by the cuts and bruises you have all over your hands and arms.”

“It’s part of my job.”

“Maybe you need a less dangerous job.”

“Maybe you need to stop being my damn mother.  I’m not a damn baby you know.”

“Well you sure as hell are acting like one.”  Makoto leaned in close and Sei could just smell the hint of whatever soap he used before he tried to lean away from Mako.  The other man’s voice was low as he muttered into Sei’s ear.  “Do you know how worried it makes Ai to see you come back bruised and battered like this?  How much it bothers him to have to help you patch yourself up?”

Makoto might have taken a small amount of perverse joy in the shocked look that settled into Sei’s face when he glanced over to Ai.  Except for the fact that Mako really didn’t enjoy hurting people, regardless of whatever people seemed to think when he got a stern look on his face.  He didn’t even have to see Aiichiro to know he probably looked scared and worried.  Scared because he and Sei rarely raised their voices, and definitely never raised them to each other, and worried because Ai was always concerned when Sei came back hurt.

A couple scratches or bruises he could handle.  But seeing his childhood friend’s arms and hands and neck covered in cuts and bruises and dried blood he hadn’t completely washed off was frightening to him.  So frightening that just two weeks ago he had stumbled over to their apartment at two in the morning after a particularly nasty nightmare.  Sei had been out on a job and Ai had demanded that they not tell him.

Now Ai’s eyes were fixed on Sei’s face as Mako busied himself with cleaning the scrapes on his knuckles.  He didn’t have to be an expert to tell that the redhead had gotten into a pretty serious fist fight.  Gently turning the man’s hand in his own he quickly cleaned off the rest of the dried blood from his hand before dabbing at the actual wounds.  Sei hissed but didn’t pull his hand away and he felt himself smile a little despite his irritation.

“All your big talk you’re still like a little kid.  I’m just cleaning it off with some water.”  Carefully cleaning his knuckles Mako couldn’t help but wonder at Sei’s attitude.  Did he not care about how Ai was dealing with his job or had he truly never noticed?  Glancing up and seeing the way Sei was searching his friend’s face like he had never seen it before he figured it was the latter.  Deciding that his hands were as clean as he was going to get them without breaking open the scabs he stood up and handed Sei a couple bandages.  He met his own friend’s eyes and nodded towards Sei.  “What do you think, Rin?”

Ai snapped his attention from the man sitting on the stool to the one whose sleeve he still had a death grip on.  What did Rin think about what?  Judging by the smirk that stole over his face it was nothing good.

“I think I can help out.”  Ai saw Seijuro’s eyes narrow at Rin’s words and he gulped.  When Rin pried his fingers off Ai immediately wrapped his arms around Rin’s waist.

“Please don’t hurt him.  He’s just tired and didn’t mean to snap at anyone.  I’ll take him home right now I promise.”  Rin patiently unwrapped the arms from his waist.  The smile on his face was gentle and Ai relaxed the tiniest bit.  Rin would never really hurt Sei.  Not on purpose anyway.  He was loud mouthed and a little mean sometimes but all in all he was a nice person.  Ai was sure of it.

“I won’t hurt him,” Rin’s eyes slid over to where Sei was watching him warily and he grinned again, “too much.”  Grabbing Sei’s wrist he hauled the shocked redhead down the hall and into his room.  Ai wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do.  Sei would want him to go home he was sure.  But he didn’t want to leave him alone.  Or be left alone himself for that matter.

“Hey, it’s ok.”  He jumped when Makoto’s warm hand settled on his shoulder and he looked up into his soft eyes with a whimper he couldn’t quite hold back.  “Rin’s just going to give him a massage to help his back and shoulders.”  A string of muffled curses had him itching to run down the hall to check on his friend.  Makoto had obviously sensed it because he chuckled and nudged his shoulder.  “If you can stand listening to the language I’m sure no one will mind if you work on your report in Rin’s room.  I’ll even join you guys in a couple minutes if you’d like.”  Ai nodded and grabbed his laptop from the counter before hurrying down the hallway, grateful to have such caring friends.  IT was something he knew Seijuro had been concerned about when he had accepted Ai’s pleas to let him move in with him.  Ai often sucked at making decent friends.  It was one of the few things that he and Sei argued about.

When he woke up the next morning Seijuro decided that maybe letting someone else help take care of him once in awhile wasn’t a horrible thing.  For the morning after a job like that one he was feeling pretty decent.  He was curled up in Rin’s bed on his side with Ai curled against his chest and it reminded him of when they were kids.  Definitely not reminding him of childhood, however, was Rin’s back pressing ever so slightly against his and the steady sound of Makoto’s breathing coming from somewhere on the floor just past Ai.


	3. Your Hair, Good Sir

Rin tested the door and wasn’t surprised to find it locked.  Seijuro was working so Ai had been over at their apartment all day frantically working on a research project.  Seeing the grey haired student diligently working at their counter or table had become a fairly regular occurrence these days since Seijuro had become so busy with work.  Ai didn’t really like being left alone very much.  Especially when his childhood friend was on a job.  Not that either Rin or Mako blamed him any.  Seeing Seijuro come by to pick Ai up after some of his jobs looking bruised and battered was unsettling enough for them.  They couldn’t understand how Ai managed seeing his friend like that so often.

 

“Ai.”  Rin said, softly rubbing his back as Makoto adjusted the younger man’s weight in his arms.  Ai had fallen asleep at their table once again and they decided he’d be more comfortable in his own bed.  His blue eyes blinked open slowly and he nuzzled into Mako’s shoulder.  “Ai.  Where’s your key?”  

He gestured to the front pocket of his bag, which was currently slung over Rin’s shoulder, and promptly dozed back off.  The redhead had to shift the pile of papers clutched in his arms before he could retrieve the key.  He knew that Ai had an important project coming up but really.  Did the guy need to bring half his books and most of his printouts over every time he invaded?

“If he keeps bringing so much over he might as well just keep it at our place.”  Mako whispered, trying not to wake Ai upi.  The poor guy was having trouble sleeping again so he needed all the rest he could get.  Especially with his research project deadline coming up.  Rin let out a quiet chuckle and rubbed his shoulder after he put Ai’s stuff on the counter.

“Tell me about it.  Next time I’ll carry him.  It’ll probably be lighter.  How the hell does he lug this shit around all the time?”

“Let’s just get him to bed so we can get some sleep ourselves.  Don’t you have some kind of new training course you have to start overseeing in the morning?”  Rin nodded and led the way down the hall to Ai’s room.  It was almost a little sad that they had done this enough that he and Mako felt comfortable walking around Ai and Sei’s apartment like it was their own.

“Hey, Ai.  You finally back?”  The bathroom door opened and Rin jumped as Seijuro leaned out in a cloud of steam and shook water from his hair.  “Hope you don’t want a bath I kind of used most of the hot water.”  He blinked in mild surprise at seeing the others.  “Oh.  Did Ai crash over there again?”

“Holy shit.”  Rin muttered as he stared at Sei.

“What?  Did I get hit in the face and not realize it?”  The redhead leaned back into the bathroom to try and glimpse himself in the foggy mirror.  “What?”  He nervously rubbed at the back of his neck.  After a moment of staring Makoto shook his head to clear his thoughts and scooted past the other two so he could put Ai to bed.  He was heavier than he looked and Mako wasn’t used to carrying around that kind of weight for long anymore.  It had been a long time since he hauled the twins around like this.  He slipped off Ai’s jacket and tucked him under the blanket.

Rin was still staring incredulously at Seijuro who was still standing the bathroom doorway in nothing but pajama bottoms with his hair dripping into the towel around his neck.  When Mako reached them again Sei turned to him.

“What is wrong with him?  Is there something on my face?  Seriously.  What the hell?”  Makoto reached out without thinking and tugged gently on the bangs hanging across Sei’s face with a smile.

“Your hair.”  Golden eyes crossed slightly as they focused on the strands caught between Mako’s fingers.  Oh.

“Yeah I’m a mess tonight I guess.”  He let out a nervous chuckle.  The only person he had ever let see him looking less than one hundred percent prepared since he moved out from his parent’s place was Ai.  But if it was these two then maybe he could let his guard down a little.

“I didn’t know your hair could look like regular hair.”  Sei shot Rin an irritated look and he quickly continued.  “I mean I’ve never seen it without copious amounts of gel or whatever you use to make it all spiky.”  

“Does it look that weird?”  He looked from Rin to Mako and folded his arms across his chest.  He should have figured something like this would happen.  Today had just been one of those days.  And tomorrow when he talked to Ai was going to be just as shitty.  Mako’s gentle voice tugged him from his thoughts.

“It’s not weird.  It’s just different.  Why don’t you leave it like that once in awhile?  Isn’t it a lot of work everyday?”

“It gets in my way when I’m working if I don’t style it and before you ask I’m not cutting it because I look horribly ridiculous with super short hair.”  Rin finally turned away from Sei and his hair to poke Mako in the shoulder a let out a loud whisper.

“I told you he was narcissistic.”

“Like you have room to talk.  Have you seen our bathroom?”  The blush on Rin’s face drew a laugh from Sei as he started to usher the other two back towards the door.  He would have never imagined Ai trying to drunkenly open the wrong apartment door would have led to finding such interesting friends.

“As much as I enjoy spending time with you guys I need some shut eye.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow, yeah?”

They sat on the couch back in their own apartment both lost in their own thoughts.

“He’s actually kind of… normal.”

“Rin.  Of course he’s normal.  He’s just a regular person.”

“But, I mean.  Jeez, Mako, did you see that hair?”

“Yeah.”

“He looked so different.  You know I kind of wanted to touch it.”

“It was kind of soft even though it was still a little damp. He must use some really expensive shampoo or something.”

“You know.  He looked really good with his hair down.”

“I didn’t realize you thought that way about him.”

“I don’t know if I do but I can damn well appreciate that he looks good like that regardless.”

Mako let out an appreciative hum.  “Yeah.”


End file.
